A SORT OF DEFENSE OF SANDI JACKSON

2/21/13

When we seek insight into the case of former Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and his wife, former absentee Alderman Sandi Jackson, it is sometimes best to eschew the opinions of the journalists, the pols, and even the bloggers and take a look at what the people in Mr. Jackson’s district, and Ms. Jackson’s ward, are saying.   To that end, consider the opinion, as recorded on page 3 of the 2/21/13 Chicago Sun-Times, of Linda Wetherspoon, who is 54 years old and has lived in the 2^nd District, and (I think) the 7^th Ward since she was twenty:

“He (Mr. Jackson) knew better.   But I feel terrible for Sandi.  She’s a woman.  She’s a mother.  I’m not excusing her.  But they usually don’t charge both husband and wife, because of the kids…So I don’t think it’s right the feds charged Sandi.   They really had it in for the Jacksons.”

Regular, or even casual, readers of this blog know that I don’t “feel terrible” for Sandi Jackson and have less than no sympathy for her.   See, inter alia, my most recent post on l’affaire Jackson, 2/16/13’s LET’S FINALLY TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT JESSE AND SANDI JACKSON.   Yet I think Ms. Wetherspoon has a point.   The U.S. Attorney generally doesn’t charge both husband and wife.   The most glaring example of this is the case of the Rod and Patti Blagojevich.   Perhaps the lawyers know better, but it seems to the average citizen, and to those of us who follow these things very closely, that Patti was up to her neck in Rod’s schemes.   Look at all the real estate deals in which those who curried Rod’s favor, most notably Tony Rezko, used Patti as a co-listing agent and paid her big commissions in exchange for very little.  In fact, there was testimony that agents who had such listings, and did almost all the work, were pressured to put Patti on as a listing agent, and thus split their commissions with her, when she did little or nothing on the deals.   It seems that Patti Blagojevich served as little more than a conduit for funneling money to her husband, the congressman and later the governor.  

Perhaps Mrs. Blagojevich did nothing illegal and the suspicious commissions from friends of the governor only appeared to be as hinky as they did.   Maybe there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Mrs. Blagojevich with crimes while there was plenty of evidence to charge Mrs. Jackson.   Or maybe Mrs. Blagojevich was a hardworking real estate agent who earned every dime she earned and never used her connections to get a listing, the last being as likely as yours truly’s managing the triumphant campaign of the Blagojevich/Jackson ticket when these two emerge from the hoosegow and run as a team for the nation’s highest offices. 

For whatever reason, though, Patti Blagojevich was not even charged with a crime.   Yes, she has young children, but so does Sandi Jackson.   So why the disparity of treatment?  I don’t blame people like Ms. Wetherspoon for being more than little suspicious of the government’s motives.

In all likelihood, Sandi Jackson will do no time and will get off with the legal equivalent of a slap on the wrist, largely due to the “she is a woman with young children” argument.   Still, being charged with a felony is a big deal.   One wonders…why Sandi Jackson and not Patti Blagojevich?

See my two books, The Chairman, A Novel of Big City Politics and The Chairman’s Challenge, A Continuing Novel of Big City Politics, for further illumination on how things work in Chicago and Illinois politics.